[3] Amina Orfi (EGY) 3-1 [6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 9-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-2 (62m)
Another game of two halves…
Amina is having exams at the moment, with a University right at the oppositive of where she lives, and far away from where she trains, at the Gezira club, in Zamalek. Because she decided so. Contrarily to what a lot of people seem to believe, Amina has a very strong temperament, and decides of her choices.
So she have as much time to train this year as normal, as she is starting a new University. And a bit like Hania in the previous match, the pressure was all on Amina. Playing home, being one of the top favourites, that was a lot of the young lady’s shoulder.
And we felt it in the first game. Although the H2H is balanced 4/4, Amina was nervous. Very nervous. Not playing her normal “Destroyer Style” of squash, she was a bit more passive then usual and Satomi, well, wasn’t. The Japanese was accurate, calm and composed. She was dispatching the shots, and took an early lead in the opener, from 3/3, 7/3, 8/4. Amina started to relax, finding more and more length and clawed back to 7/8.
Still, it’s 10/7, game ball to Satomi. The young WR3 was pushing hard, only bowing 11/9 in 22 very long minutes.
Interesting to note that Satomi conceded 3 strokes in that game alone, as did Amina. But no errors for Amina, 3 for Satomi.
And then the second half… Satomi just never was allowed to have a sniff at an opportunity. Destroyer more on, and Amina took the second in 10m, from 1/3 down to 11/3. One hand, and Satomi conceding 4 strokes. The third, in 8m, 6/1, 11/3. As for the 4th, well, 11/2…
Amina
“It definitely feels special. I had a tough match today, so I’m happy to be through. I think I played well,” Orfi said after the match.
“I don’t really care [about the headlines between myself and Hania El Hammamy]. I think everything that has been said is far from the truth.
“I’m just going to focus on the match, and I’m just saying to myself, just two more matches until I’m hopefully World Champion. I’m just taking it step by step.
“Every previous year I’ve come to the World Championships and wanted to do well, play well, maybe go one round further. That’s what has kind of stopped me getting past the lat-16 last time.
“I’m just like I want to win this, I’m a contender. Everyone in the top eight is a contender and I just want to win.”
“He’s no longer working with me [Omar Mosaad]. I think the past few months, they were good for us, working together, but I just felt I needed some change.
“It was definitely my decision, I know some people said it wasn’t. I’m the who told my dad. My dad was like ‘the timing was bad’, he said maybe to wait until the end of the season, but I said ‘I feel this is more comfortable’ and I really wanted him [my dad] to be in my corner this tournament, because he pushes me to be the best version of myself.”
